Monday, November 25, 2013

Last Lamborghini Gallardo Rolls Off the Production Line

Once upon a time, Lamborghinis were exotic and very rare supercars of which only a few dozen or a hundred examples were produced through each model's lifetime.

That all changed when Audi took over in 1998 and starting with the Diablo, Lamborghini initially started selling cars in the thousands, and with the Gallardo, tens of thousands. To be precise, the Italians sold 14,022 units of the Gallardo from 2003 to 2013, the last of which left the production line today (November 25, 2013).

In the ten years that the Gallardo series remained it production, it become Lamborghini's most commercially successful model ever, helping the company move from an average of just 250 cars built per year in the brand's first four decades, to around 2,000 vehicles today. In fact, the Gallardo's sales represent almost half of all 30,000 Lamborghinis built since the company was first founded in 1963…

The Gallardo was presented in 2003, with the open-top Spyder added to the lineup in 2005, followed by the lighter and more powerful 530PS Superleggera coupe in 2007. The next year, Lamborghini updated the Gallardo with a redesigned front and rear, a new engine with gasoline direct injection and 560PS for the regular models, and 570PS for the new Superleggera that appeared in 2010. Another light update came in 2012.

Special editions included the rear-wheel drive LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni and LP 550-2 Spyder, the Super Trofeo Stradale and the lighter Squadra Corse.